Arranged Royals (Frozen AU)
by FrolickngWithFandoms
Summary: In this AU of Frozen, Elsa's parents survive and she is to be married to the youngest sibling of the Southern Isles royalty, Price Hans. (Helsa) Important: I haven't officially decided if I will continue on with this. Your comments/suggestions/reviews will be greatly appreciated and may determine if this will continue. (Credit to "Disneys FrozenGuy" for the cover photo)
1. Introduction

The warm tingling of light poured over her eyelids, causing the last strings of unconsciousness to be cut. She had a nightmare last night of her parents. A curtsy, a storm pulling their ship under the waves, a funeral, and a coronation; her heart ached.

"Elsa, it's time to awake. The day has already started without you," the Queen said sweetly and softly to her from the previously curtained window.

Elsa groaned and rolled over on her stomach, putting the pillow over top of her head. It couldn't have been much past six for the sun was barely off the horizon. Rubbing the memory of the dream out of her eyes, she sat up on her bed to see her mother's soft smile beaming at her.

"Today is a very big day for you, Princess. Your father has planned the entire day out for you."

She looked across the room to see her blue and black, floor length dress upon the manikin in the corner where Anna's bed once resided. Small, twisting flowers of delicate design reached down the long sleeves seemingly grabbing towards her fingers which were to be covered with white gloves laced in blue satin. As her mother gave her a leaving smile and headed out the door, Elsa walked to her mirror and examined the person trapped inside the glass.

There stood a skinny girl with skin as white and soft as her hair, with puffy blue eyes still sore from the tears of sleep. A girl with a small pointed nose, rounded jaw-line, thin eyebrows, and hints of freckles stared her hard in the face. True, the girl was beautiful, but there was something dangerous about her. Was it the abnormal whiteness of her hair? Maybe it was the piercing blueness of her eyes? No, it was none of that. It was the draft of cold ice that emancipated from her body, the chill that would sweep across anyone who dared to come near her. It was the deadly ice that would shoot from her fingertips.

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Elsa jumped with a gasp. The King poked his head in from behind the door and gave her a weary smile which she tried desperately to return. He glanced above her at the small falling flakes of ice before stepping into the room and closing the door behind his feet.

"Elsa?" he asked with a small quiver in his usually commanding voice. "Are- Is everything okay?"

"Yes, father," she bowed her head slightly and twisted her fingers behind her back.

He reached out for her but Elsa stepped back in sync with his movement. His hand dropped and he let out a sigh. She wondered, was it a sigh of relief or disappointment. She felt his eyes on her face as she did her best to avoid eye contact. The silence persisted for what seemed to her as hours.

_Don't let it show._

"I'm going to get dressed for the day, father." She tried to sound confident, but her voice betrayed her with small shaking.

The King banished the space between his eyebrows and looked to the floor. Elsa took the moment to take a deep breath. He nodded solemnly and turned on his heels to make his leave.

As he was closing the door behind him, Elsa caught a glimpse of her sister's face. Anna was fifteen now, and absolutely beautiful. She let her mind capture this one frame to contemplate. Anna looked so much like her father, from her red hair to the awkward way she walks. Elsa allowed herself to slip a few tears for her sister before pulling herself together to prepare for the day.

The gloves were the final thing she put on. Without the gloves, Elsa could hurt everyone and everything she came in contact with. She felt as if she was a small child hiding under the covers from the monsters outside the blankets safety; only the monster was inside of her.

"_Anna, wait! Slow down!" Elsa called to her sister as she went to jump higher, giggling. _

The neigh of a horse pulled her out of the memory. She walked to her door and grabbed the handle. It suddenly iced over and she recoiled quickly, grabbing the hand that was missing its glove. A lump of air was stuck in her throat as she frantically searched for the missing glove. The sound of her own pulse pounded painfully in her ears and blocked out the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned and the glove lay limp on the dresser, the footsteps stopped outside her door and she reached desperately for the glove.

The slightly cracked door creaked open as knuckles rapped against the wood. Two gasps.

"Oh! Elsa, I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- I didn't know, the door just," Anna stood in the frame of the door to Elsa's room with wide, scared, and apologetic eyes. Thankfully, Elsa had just been able to slip the glove upon her fingers as Anna's face was revealed behind the door.

"I just wanted to tell you that he's here," Anna said blushing and tiptoeing away.

Elsa took a deep breath. What if things had been different? What if her parents had died in that storm? What if she had become of age and taken the throne? What if she didn't have to marry Prince Hans?


	2. Chapter One: First Glance

Chapter One

Elsa breathed in through her nose, held it for a few moments while she thought about slowing her heart rate, and let it out. As tiny flakes of ice and snow drifted down around her, she recited the words she had heard so many times in a soft whisper.

"Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show."

The words continued to echo in Elsa's head after she stopped saying them. She heard the gates outside swing open, and the horses hooves clapped upon the stone followed by the creaking of wagon wheels.

"Wow," Elsa slightly jumped at the sound of someone other than herself. "They must have brought a wagon and horses over the fjord."

Her heart pounded at the closeness between her and Anna. She hadn't been this close since-

"_Go play with yourself," she grinned as she pushed her sister off the edge of the bed. After a delayed moment, she jumped back and Elsa stifled a smile. Anna pulled one of her eyes open._

"_Do you wanna build a snowmaaaaaan?"_

"Brrr!" Elsa couldn't help but to be once again startled by the sound of Anna's voice. "Guess they brought a cold chill in with them!"

Elsa tried to take an inconspicuous deep breath, and twisted the fingers of her glove. For a stiff moment, neither one of them moved. _Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show. Conceal, don't feel. Don't feel. Don't feel. _It was dangerous for her to be beside her sister. It brought back the memories and pain she went through with separating herself from the inside of her lip, she began to walk toward the top of the stairs.

_Breath in, 5; breath out, 5._

Her shoes made soft, muffled _dup_s on the red carpet as she counted the stairs she walked down. 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10..11..12..13..14..15..16..17..18..19..20. When was the last time she had went down these stairs? Had it been eight years? Elsa's hand slid along the rail as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. The golden design under her black shoes matched the ones traveling down her sleeves in all but color. The creme color striped walls with the traditional Nordic design met the stairs at an odd yet entrancing angle.

She rounded the last bend of the hall expecting to see the royal families together waiting for her entrance; to her much thankful surprise, the entrance room was empty all but the lone servant standing beside the door casting a grim smile at her. Robein, Elsa believed her name was. One of the few lucky staff members who was allowed to stay after the...incident.

"_No. We'll protect her. She can learn to control it. I'm sure. Until then, we'll lock the gates. We'll reduce the staff. We will limit her contact with people, and keep her powers hidden from everyone. Including Anna."_

"Princess Elsa?" Robein brought her out of the memory. "Are you ready, miss?"

Elsa blinked at her a few times, wide eyed. _Ready? For what?...Oh! _She cleared her throat and gave a slight nod, "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" she muttered. _I'm definitely not ready._

Robein creased her brow and felt the chill come from Elsa when she opened the door of the house to the courtyard.

There on the light red-brown bricks stood her father to the far right, with her mother close to his side. Both of them smiling and nodding their heads at the strangers. The strangers, two of them, stood to the left near the lead horses attached to the carriage. All eight horses, each light yellow in color, had the tradition zig-zag pattern of blond and black in their mane. Elsa took extra interest in the lone horse, exact in every way, standing behind the carriage fully tacked for a ride. A fat, small man with rosey cheeks said something amusing to the King and the group of four erupted into laughter. She guessed that was the King of the Southern Isles, and the tall, thin yet masculine man beside him was her soon to be husband.

She was staring at his beautiful reddish colored hair in awe when his straight spine and torso shifted in her direction. Elsa's breath caught in her throat as piercing green eyes met hers, and the ends of those lush lips stretched across his long jawline. For once in her cold life, she felt as if she was melting. In fact, she almost didn't recognize that she was smiling back.


	3. Chapter Two: First Words

Elsa's lips parted slightly in awe and utter amazement from the stabbing green eyes, and she had to pull herself out of the spell it put her under. She swallowed the harsh lump in her throat as her father called.

"Ah, there she is! Dear, come over and meet our guests," he said it with a confidence she was almost unfamiliar with. Usually when he beckoned her, it was a serious and deadly tone. Yet today, he seemed almost at joy.

Elsa had to blink the bewilderment out of her blue eyes before she could force her heavy feet to move towards him. With the Prince's eyes upon her, she could hardly walk in a straight line. As she moved closer, she could have sworn that the Prince lowered his head to conceal his blushing cheeks; she almost had to conceal hers.

"Princess Elsa," her father said, putting a very light hand on the back of her arm, "This is King Fawne of the Southern Isles." King Fawne bowed before her, politely. She returned with a curtsey.

_(Elsa curtseyed to her mother and father. "Do you have to go?" She almost pleaded. They looked to her with somber faces and tried to give her a reassuring smile. "You'll be fine," they replied to her. "We'll only be gone a couple weeks.") _Remembering the clip from her dream, Elsa tried to pull her mind away from the picture.

"And this," her father continued, "is Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

Her eyes widened and smile faded as her attention was drawn back to the Prince. He stepped one foot slightly in front of the other and took her hand in his. (_Anna, with Elsa in hand, pulled her down the stairs and into the ballroom.) _Elsa's body became stiff and cold, but Prince Hans did not pause. He pulled her hand up to his pink lips and pressed them against her gloved knuckles. As his warm, soft lips made contact with the silk; a chill ran up her arm, down her spine, back up, and down her arm again to his lips. The pink drained from them and his breath became icy for a moment.

(_She held Anna in her arms, terrified of what she might have done to her little sister. An icy breath escaped her lips and a blonde streak of hair appeared magically on her red head. Elsa cried out her her parents. What had she done?)_

He began to recoil, as did she, when he unexpectedly regained his composure. His eyes opened and looked up along Elsa's arm to her face. The Prince slowly dropped her hand down to her side and stood back up to his attention position, never taking his eyes from hers.

"Pleasure to meet you, Princess Elsa," Prince Hans said with a voice as smooth and soft as the silk lining of her bed.

She had to swallow another lump in her throat before replying, "The pleasure is mine." The words slipped out from her mouth before she had been able to hold them back. The reply was too quick and too desperate, she knew he must be thinking. _Wait, what? _she said to herself in her head.

He smirked and looked at her as if she was a mystery in a book, an adventure waiting to set sail for the unknown.

"Wonderful!" King Fawne exclaimed to the group. "Now, you must show us Arendelle's Royal Palace before I can leave!"

King Fawne was lead to the door of the palace by Elsa's mother and father, yapping the whole time of trade partners and goods.

Elsa watched them disappear behind the door, at first not realizing that she was left alone with Prince Hans in the courtyard...But when she turned around and his broad chest was a foot from her nose, she remembered instantly.

Prince Hans cleared his throat and stepped back so Elsa could feel (more) comfortable. "Uhm, well," his stature slumped just barely like a statue breathing a sigh of relief when a spectator finally walks away after long contemplation. "Would you like to go for a ride? You could show me Arendelle." Hans gave a crooked smile that was almost goofy.

Elsa actually giggled a little at his silly expression, but then realized it was rude to laugh at someone your engaged to. She composed herself, and nodded politely. "Yes, a ride sounds lovely."

Elsa's father believed that a woman should be permitted to ride with one leg on each side of her horse if she was good enough not to embarrass herself or the animal. Luckily, she was a well enough rider to do both. She had been thrown atop a pony when she was able to hold herself on, which was age five. Elsa sometimes rode out through the mountains by herself when she could sneak away from Anna. It was a time of peace for her, a time when she didn't have to worry about other people coming too close to her. She didn't have to worry about hurting someone close to her.

Elsa's white mare, who more than enjoyed being called by the name Duchess, was lead out of the stables and held by the mounting block. Duchess was a standard Norwegian fjord horse with alternating black/white squares in her short cut mane. Elsa climbed the block and swung her leg around Duchess.

As she grasped the reins, Hans rode his golden pony around the corner of the stables. Elsa grinned and gave Duchess a squeeze with her legs, she started forward at a trot.

"Keep up if you can, Prince Hans!" She called to him over her shoulder as she kicked her pony up to a canter and rode out of the palace and into the town.


	4. Chapter Three: First Incident

The wind rushed through her pulled up hair, knocking most of it down. Loose strands slapped the edge of her face as she turned her head to the side and looked from the corner of her eye.

"Come on now, Prince!" Elsa called to him as he kicked his pony a little harder. "Don't let a girl beat you on horseback!"

She heard him laugh loud enough for her to hear and clicked his tongue. They raced straight through the town at a canter, dodging townspeople and vegetable carts, and headed out into the wilderness.

It was Autumn and the leafs fell lazily from the large trees; then smacked Hans in the face as he raced by, of course. Elsa hit her usual dirt trail winding through the woods and up towards the North Mountain. She told Duchess to pick it up to a gallop, and they took off at full speed leaving the Prince in her dust..

They rode until they and their horses were out of breath. They had made it over half way to the mountain and stopped at the river in the valley below to let the ponies refresh themselves. With the horses to the side of them, Elsa and Hans sat on a large rock and looked up to the mountain.

Elsa laughed softly when her breathing had returned to normal. "I can't believe you got beat by your fiancé!" And as soon as the words left her lips, she regretted them. She was having so much fun that she forgot why she was here with the Prince in the first place. She bit down on her lip and turned her head away.

"Princess," Prince Hans said with a change of tone, "Would it be unnerving if I told you that although I know absolutely nothing about you...It feels as if I've known you all my life?"

Elsa's breath caught in her throat and she felt the heat rushing to her face. She had to turn away a little more to hide the blush. _Not at all, Hans. I feel the same way. Exactly the same. _Then Elsa realized that Hans actually knew absolutely nothing about her. He didn't know about her likes and dislikes, her hobbies, and he especially didn't know about her curse. He knew nothing, and yet he assumed that he knew her already? The blush turned to a confused anger.

Hans noticed the sudden change that came over her and quickly thought of something to say. "Which of course is ridiculous because all I know is your name." He let out a nervous laugh and eyed Elsa cautiously.

But the sudden mood swing left Elsa terrified, and when she was terrified..._accidents _happen.

(_The King of the Trolls inspected Anna and shook his head solemnly. Elsa was scared he was going to say there was nothing he could do; that she was dead._)

Though Elsa didn't realize, the silence dragged out between the two of them longer than intended. After a couple agonizing minutes of silence and stillness, Hans reached out his hand toward her and softly touched her shoulder. "Els-"

Elsa reacted in a split moment and grabbed Hans thick wrist with white knuckles and squeezed as tightly as she could with clenched teeth. The reflex happened so fast that she didn't even think about what was happening. The small bony fingers grasping his wrist seeped with the cold poison inside of her. Hans flinched from her sudden movement, but could not escape from her tight grip. The cold spread up his arm and immobilized the entire side of his body. They sat there for seconds that felt like days just staring into each others eyes.

Elsa gasped and let go of Hans with shaky hands. He didn't move after she had let go, he just sat there frozen. She put her hands around her trembling body and jumped off the rock, moving quickly towards the river. She expected some sort of protest from Hans, but heard nothing stir behind her. She jumped on Duchess and ran off from the trail into the unknown.

Her breathing was ridged and she felt the tears begin to sting her eyes. "Duchess, faster!" she called and the pony lunged forward over a log. Elsa's chest heaved, the reins froze to her hands, and her voice shook her whole world. "_No, no, no, no. Please, no. Not again. Conceal. You're feeling, not concealing. Don't feel. Oh, please, no." _The leafs drifting down froze and hit the dirt, breaking into thousands of tiny pieces of ice. The twigs stuck to the grass in hard clumps. Above Arendelle, the entire sky darkened.


End file.
